Industrial and Hazardous Waste Corrective Action Program
Overview of this program, which administers the cleanup of sites contaminated from industrial and municipal hazardous and industrial nonhazardous wastes.
The mission of the industrial and hazardous waste (IHW) corrective action program is to oversee the cleanup of sites contaminated from industrial and municipal hazardous and industrial nonhazardous wastes. Our goals are to:
- Ensure that sites are assessed and remediated to levels that protect human health and the environment;
- Verify that waste management units or facilities are taken out of service and closed properly; and to
- Facilitate revitalization of contaminated properties.
To achieve these goals, we work with representatives of many different types of facilities, including industrial and hazardous waste permitted and non-permitted facilities. We also work closely with federal facilities.
Legal Authority
Cleanups and waste management unit closures come into this
program if they are regulated under
30 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 335 
,
relating to industrial solid waste and municipal hazardous
waste management. Depending on the types of waste managed,
quantity, and management methods, federal requiremements of 40 Code
of Federal Regulations (CFR) 264 or 265 may also apply.
The current cleanup standards are given in the Texas
Risk Reduction Program (TRRP) rules of
30 TAC Chapter 350 ,
effective September 23, 1999 (24TexReg7415). Although there was a
transition period from the previous 1993 "Risk Reduction Standards"
of 30 TAC Chapter 335 Subchapter S, the majority of cleanups are
now being done under TRRP.
Considerations When Planning Projects
These sets of regulations are fairly broad. One way to approach cleanup projects and navigate through the rules is to keep these basic questions in mind: "For this facility, unit or area:
- ...am I doing a facility/unit closure or a cleanup?...or both?"
- ...what is/was the source of contamination? Was hazardous waste involved?"
- ...why am I doing the closure/cleanup? What's my motivation? (Examples: Self-implemented action under state rule? Action required by permit? Enforcement action?)"
Although these are not the only issues to consider when planning or evaluating a project, understanding the basic context will help guide your work and will also help in communicating with the TCEQ.
